Therapeutic exercise for pregnancy low back and pelvic pain: a systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: During pregnancy, a woman's body goes through many changes, and lower back and pelvic pain are common and may persist after pregnancy. Although the literature point physical therapy as an effective therapeutic tool, there are few studies on the effects of physical therapy intervention through exercises for this purpose. Objective: To perform a systematic review on the use of Physiotherapy, through therapeutic exercises, for the prevention and treatment of pregnancy low back and pelvic pain. Methods: A systematic search for randomized trials (RCTs) was conducted on the databases PubMed, PEDro, Cochrane, EMBASE, LILACS and Periódicos Capes. There was no date or language restriction. The terms included in the search were: "pregnancy", "low back pain", "pelvic pain", "exercise therapy" and their descriptors in Portuguese. Methodological quality was assessed using the PEDro scale and a descriptive analysis of the studies was performed. Results: Eight studies, including 1781 pregnant women, were selected. Among them, one study addressed the issue of low back pain, two focused on pelvic pain and five on low back and/or pelvic pain. Seven studies presented high methodological quality, and only one study had low methodological quality. Limited evidence on low back pain was found, and conflicting evidence on pelvic pain, and low and/or pelvic pain. Conclusion: RCTs on the subject are scarce and heterogeneous, making it impossible to reach a consensus

Compression shorts reduce prenatal pelvic and low back pain: a prospective quasi-experimental controlled study

“…This prospective quasi-experimental controlled study evaluated for the first time the effectiveness of wearing custom designed compression shorts during pregnancy to manage prenatal PGP and LBP and associated disability and to further assess the thermal safety of these compression shorts when they were worn during pregnancy. The study responds to previous research which has highlighted that LBP and PGP are the most common conditions experienced by women during pregnancy (Colla, Paiva & Thomas, 2017; Hughes et al, 2018; Ho et al, 2009a; Wang et al, 2005). The primary aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a specific DEFOs for reducing prenatal pain and associated disability arising from the pelvic girdle and lower back and secondly this study aimed to further assess the thermal safety of DEFOs during pregnancy.…”

“…The two most commonly reported prenatal problems are low back pain (LBP) and pelvic girdle pain (PGP) (Fitzgerald & Mallinson, 2012; Pennick & Liddle, 2013). An estimated 50–70% of women report LBP during pregnancy (Colla, Paiva & Thomas, 2017; Hughes et al, 2018; Ho et al, 2009a; Wang et al, 2005). On this basis, LBP is quite often considered ‘normal’ during pregnancy, but women report that it interferes with their activities of daily living (Colla, Paiva & Thomas, 2017; Hughes et al, 2018).…”

“…An estimated 50–70% of women report LBP during pregnancy (Colla, Paiva & Thomas, 2017; Hughes et al, 2018; Ho et al, 2009a; Wang et al, 2005). On this basis, LBP is quite often considered ‘normal’ during pregnancy, but women report that it interferes with their activities of daily living (Colla, Paiva & Thomas, 2017; Hughes et al, 2018). PGP during pregnancy is estimated to range in prevalence from 24% to 50%, with the cited reason for this range being there is variability in how PGP is defined, how physical assessments to identify PGP are performed and how it is reported (Clinton et al, 2017; Fitzgerald & Mallinson, 2012; Walters, West & Nippita, 2018).…”

Recursos fisioterapêuticos na dor pélvica gestacional: revisão da literatura e proposta de manual de orientação

“…Verstraete et al [12] publicaram uma revisão em que citam diversas opções (medicamentosas, cirúrgicas e não cirúrgicas) para manejo da DPG e mostraram que há evidências positivas em relação à fisioterapia pré e pós-parto, com prescrição de exercícios personalizados e leves, com foco em estabilização lombopélvica. Colla et al [13] verificaram o efeito de exercícios terapêuticos realizados com 1781 gestantes e puérperas; não chegaram, porém, a um consenso sobre a prescrição dos mesmos para o controle da DPG. No estudo de Gutke et al [5], houve maior efetividade na acupuntura e no uso de cintos pélvicos quando comparados aos exercícios terapêuticos.…”

Efeito Do Tratamento Hidroterápico Na Dor Lombar E Qualidade De Vida De Gestante: Estudo De Caso

“…A escala visual analógica foi aplicada durante a avaliação e reavaliação e mostrou uma melhora significativa, corroborando com o estudo de Kluge et al 14 , com um programa de exercícios que durou 10 semanas reduziu a intensidade da dor lombar durante a gravidez 14 .…”